Dukes benched for being late

Some pregame breaking news from Nationals Park: Elijah Dukes has been removed from today’s starting lineup for what the club is officially calling “an undisclosed violation of team rules.” I’m told he arrived five minutes late to the park today and wasn’t on the field in time for the start of pre-batting practice stretch.

So let it be known that the Nats (in particular Manny Acta) aren’t going to tolerate this kind of stuff anymore. We saw Lastings Milledge get fined for being late to the pre-Opening Day meeting, and now we’ve seen Dukes benched for a similar violation.

SEE RELATED:

Dukes was due to hit fifth and play center field in the lineup originally issued by the Nats. Now, Josh Bard gets bumped up to the 5-hole, Austin Kearns to the 6-hole and Roger Bernadina is inserted in the 7-hole and takes over in center field.

So your starting lineups on an absolutely gorgeous afternoon in the District…